Bear Mauling Fatality

– – A lone hiker was mauled to death by a grizzly bear on Friday in Alaska’s Denali National Park. It was the first fatality from a bear attack in the park’s nearly 100 year history.

Forty-nine-year-old Richard White of San Diego had been photographing the bear from a distance of about 50-yards away for about eight minutes when he was killed; a grizzly running at full speed could cover that distance in a matter of seconds, according to the Park’s superintendent. The regulation distance between a hiker and a bear is a quarter mile.

Other hikers found the victim’s backpack and bloodied clothing, and alerted park rangers. A wildlife trooper shot and killed the bear on Sunday, and rangers recovered Mr. White’s remains. A portion of the Park was closed following the attack…